He hurries to his limo on Sunset Boulevard. Traffic slows, horns honk and admirers yell: "Hey, Jesse!" He shoots them a thumbs-up. He is driven across town to Burbank, hoists himself out of the car, and office workers materialize on the sidewalk to greet him. Up goes the thumb. This is the evidence in the Rev. Jesse Jackson's life that all is well. And to those who claim otherwise, he is ready figuratively with his thumb at his nose.

It's not a typo: The South Central L.A. Tea Party exists, and Jesse Lee Peterson takes a bow for founding it. He's also president and founder of the 23-year-old black bootstraps group Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny, or BOND, and serves as pastor for a nondenominational congregation at its headquarters. As his public pronouncements make clear, he detests Planned Parenthood and legal abortion, welfare and the California-born black holiday Kwanzaa. He used to hold a "national day of repudiation" against Jesse Jackson; he has his doubts about women in high places.

Democratic presidential candidate Jesse Jackson offers a ray of hope for democracy in America. Although we're living in a country which claims to be the epitome of democracy, it should be apparent that we suffer under an oligarchy. An unholy alliance of special interests controls our government. While one group manages the economy in order to loot the country's resources, the other controls an egregious foreign policy which does not even serve the nation. But, with Jackson, there is a good chance of a viable third party, primarily because of a potentially monolithic black vote.

ORLANDO - The Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke about Trayvon Martin before appearing at the NAACP national convention here Wednesday morning, faulting the jury that acquitted Martin's killer for being biased and relying on the state's “stand your ground” self-defense law, noting that he has been investigating other such cases involving blacks. “The jury was not representative,” Jackson said of the six women, five of them white, who acquitted George Zimmerman on Saturday. “Now they are showing their own cultural biases” he said in interviews.

Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. resigned from Congress on Wednesday, saying in a letter that he is cooperating with a federal investigation "into my activities" but blaming his health problems for his decision to step down just two weeks after his reelection. Jackson's letter to House Speaker John A. Boehner was his first acknowledgment of the ongoing corruption inquiry into his alleged misuse of campaign dollars. "I am doing my best to address the situation responsibly, cooperate with the investigators, and accept responsibility for my mistakes, for they are my mistakes and mine alone," Jackson said in the two-page letter dated Nov. 21. "None of us is immune from our share of shortcomings or human frailties and I pray that I will be remembered for what I did right.

Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. called on the House of Representatives to condemn Texas Gov. Rick Perry for his association with a hunting camp known by a racial epithet. Jackson went to the floor Thursday to read from a resolution calling on the governor to apologize for not immediately "doing away with" a rock painted with the camp's name. He called on other GOP presidential candidates to condemn the use of the word and said Perry should release the names of state lawmakers and others who attended hunting trips at the camp.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has jumped out to an early lead tonight in his Democratic primary contest against longtime foe Debbie Halvorson , a former congresswoman. Jackson had 72% to Halvorson's 28% with more than 9% counted in unofficial returns in the 2nd Congressional District. Halvorson, who served one term in Congress, hopes to end Jackson's 17-year tenure as he battles ethics allegations. Jackson faces a congressional ethics investigation stemming from accusations that his campaign supporters offered to raise money for then-Gov.

June 25, 2012 | By Rick Pearson and Katherine Skiba, This post has been corrected, as indicated below.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s office disclosed Monday that the veteran Democratic congressman has been on medical leave from Congress for the last two weeks and is being treated for exhaustion. In a statement from his office, spokesman Frank Watkins said the 17-year congressman went on medical leave June 10. “He asks that you respect his family's privacy,” the statement said, adding that his congressional offices remain open for constituents. The statement was the first public disclosure that Jackson has been on medical leave for two weeks.

WASHINGTON - Broadcaster Tavis Smiley and attorney Vernon Jordan are the latest high-profile people to show support for former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who will be sentenced July 3 for looting his campaign treasury of about $750,000. Letters from the two were filed Friday in federal court. Smiley, who hosts “Tavis Smiley,” which airs on PBS, said when he spoke recently to Jackson, “the first words out of his mouth were an acknowledgment and apology for letting me and so many others down.” He told the sentencing judge that he'd known Jackson most of his life.

WASHINGTON - Former U.S. Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) and his wife, former Chicago Alderwoman Sandi Jackson, pleaded guilty Wednesday in what prosecutors said was a conspiracy to siphon about $750,000 in federal campaign funds for their personal use. Jackson entered a negotiated plea of guilty on one felony count of conspiracy to commit false statements, wire fraud and mail fraud. He could face years in prison when he is sentenced this summer. Sandi Jackson pleaded guilty to a charge of willingly filing a false tax return, tied to the same allegations that the couple repeatedly tapped the former congressman's campaign fund, used the money for personal expenses and then made fraudulent campaign and tax disclosures to cover up the misconduct.

Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. resigned from Congress on Wednesday, saying in a letter that he is cooperating with a federal investigation "into my activities" but blaming his health problems for his decision to step down just two weeks after his reelection. Jackson's letter to House Speaker John A. Boehner was his first acknowledgment of the ongoing corruption inquiry into his alleged misuse of campaign dollars. "I am doing my best to address the situation responsibly, cooperate with the investigators, and accept responsibility for my mistakes, for they are my mistakes and mine alone," Jackson said in the two-page letter dated Nov. 21. "None of us is immune from our share of shortcomings or human frailties and I pray that I will be remembered for what I did right.

The Mayo Clinic announced this week that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), who has been on medical leave since June, is at the facility in Rochester, Minn., being treated for a form of bipolar disorder known as bipolar II. The clinic's statement says describes bipolar II depression as “a treatable condition that affects parts of the brain controlling emotion, thought and drive.” A combination of genetic and environmental factors are thought to...

Not that he's missing much given the pointless political "show" votes currently dominating the House of Representatives, but Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s apparent disappearance is giving folks in his district heartburn. The Democratic congressman from Illinois hasn't been seen publicly since announcing a medical leave of absence a month ago, prompting his home-state senator, fellow Democrat Dick Durbin, to call for some clarity. "As a public official, there comes a point where you have a responsibility to tell the public what's going on," Durbin said Monday.

A week after U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. announced he was taking a leave of absence, his office released a statement Thursday saying his condition is "more serious than initially believed" and that he is being treated at an "in-patient facility. " In a statement that contained few details, the Illinois Democrat's office said: "Recently we have been made aware that he has grappled with certain physical and emotional ailments privately for a long period of time. According to the preliminary diagnosis from his doctors, Congressman Jackson will need to receive extended in-patient treatment as well as continuing medical treatment thereafter.